Umbrella.



' Patented May 31, 1910.

/WIIIIIIIIIIIII'E UNITED STATES PfkiTENT OFFICE.

AUSTIN IECK, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR OF FORTY ONE-HUNDREDTHS TOJOHN A. PECK, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

UMBRELLA.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, AUSTIN PEOK, a citizen of the United States,residing at St. Louis, Missouri, have invented a certain new and usefulImprovement in Umbrellas, of which the following is a full, clear, andexact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art towhich it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to umbrellas, parasols and similar articles.

The main object of my invention is to provide an umbrella or parasolwhich is so constructed that any of the ribs can be removed easily andperfect ribs substituted therefor in case the ribs become bent orbroken.

My invention, briefly described, consists of an umbrella in which theribs are provided at their upper ends with heads or devices that engagea member which is mounted on the central supporting rod of the umbrella,and means cooperating with said member for clamping the ribs inposition, there being no positive or permanent connection between theribs and the member which the heads of the ribs engage so that the ribscan be removed easily. In the preferred form of my invention as hereinshown, the ribs are provided at their upper ends with approximately ballshaped heads that enter a socket or recess in a member which isslidingly mounted on the central supporting rod, and a spring or othersuitable device is provided for holding said rib-supporting member inengagement with a cooperating member on the rod so as to prevent theribs from becoming displaced. The braces that are pivotally connected tothe ribs are provided at their lower ends with projections that aredetachably connected to the sliding sleeve that is usually mounted onthe central supporting rod of an umbrella so as to permit a brace to bedisconnected from said sleeve easily when the rib, wit-l1 which saidbrace cooperates, is disconnected from the ribsupporting member ontherod. I do not wish it to be understood, however, that my broad idea islimited to the exact construction herein shown, for the same resultcould be accomplished in various ways without departing from the spiritof my invention.

Figure l of the drawings is a vertical sectional view of an umbrellaconstructed in accordance with my invention; Fig. 2 is an enlargeddetail view of the central rod and Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 13, 1909.

Patented May 31, 1910.

Serial No. 483,307.

the members thereon to which the ribs and braces are connected; Fig. 3is a perspective view of the member that receives the heads on the upperends of the ribs; Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the sleeve to whichthe lower ends of the braces are connected; Fig. 5 is a perspective viewof the key that locks the sta tionary member on the rod; and Fig. 6 is aperspective view of said stationary member, said member being adapted tolimit the upward movement of the rib supporting member.

Referring to the drawings which illustrate the preferred form of myinvention, 1 designates the central supporting rod of the umbrella, and2 designates the ribs, said ribs being provided at their upper ends withproj ections, preferably ball-shaped heads 3,that enter a socket orrecess in a member 4 which is slidingly mounted on the rod 1. Thismember 4 is provided with a vertically disposed circular fiange thatforms the side walls of the socket or recess in which the heads of theribs lie, and said flange is provided with slots 5 for receiving theribs 2, the heads 3 on said ribs being of greater dimensions than saidslots so that the heads cannot pass therethrough after the ribs havebeen arranged in operative position, as shown in Fig. 2.

A stationary member 6 is connected to the rod 1 in some suitable manner,such, for example, as by means of a key 7 that extends transverselythrough a slot in the rod 1 and enters a groove 8 in the upper side ofthe.

member 6, anda washer 9 is mounted on the rod 1 underneath the member 6for retaining the cover 10 of the umbrella in position and also forpreventing the ribs from moving upwardly out of the member 1 which islocated underneath said washer. A coiled expansion spring 11 is mountedon the rod for exerting upward pressure on the ribcarrying member 4 soas to clamp the heads 3 of the ribs between the washer 9 and the member4 and also clamp the cover 10 between said washer and the stationarymember 6. Any suitable kind of abutment can be provided for the lowerend of the spring 11 but I prefer to employ a washer 12 that rests on across-key .13 which extends transversely through a slot in the rod 1, asshown clearly in Fig. 2. The cross-keys 7 and 13 are provided with lugsor cars 14L, as shown in Figs. 2 and 5, that prevent said keys frommoving laterally relatively to the rod 1, the pressure which the spring11 exerts on the rib-supporting member 1 and the washer 12 forcing saidkeys toward the ends of the slots in which they are mounted so that thelugs 14 will embrace the rod 1 and thus prevent the keys from becomingdisplaced.

The braces 15 that are pivot-ally connected to the ribs 2 are preferablyprovided at their lower ends with hook-shaped projections 16, as shownin Fig. 2, and the sliding sleeve 17, which is usually mounted on thecentral supporting rod, is provided at its upper end with a flange 18having holes 19 for receiving said hookshaped projections so as toenable the braces to be connected and disconnected easily from thesleeve 17. If de sired, the sleeve 17 can be provided with a protectingdevice 20 that extends over the ends of the hook-shaped projections 16so as to prevent the hand of the person who uses the umbrella fromcontacting with said projections during the operation of raising orlowering the umbrella.

The main advantage of an umbrella of the construction above described isthat the ribs and braces can be removed easily and new ribs and bracessubstituted therefor without requiring the aid of a skilled mechanic.lVhen it is desired to remove one or more of the ribs the spring 11 iscompressed so that the rib-supporting member 4 will move downwardly onthe rod 1 far enough to enable the rib to be lifted out of the slot 5 inthe circular flange of the member 4, thus completely disconnecting theupper end of the rib. The brace 15, which is connected to said rib, canthen be disconnected from the sleeve 17 by turning said brace into sucha position that. its hookshaped projection will pass out of the opening19 in the flange of the sleeve.

To insert a new rib and brace, the lower hook-shaped end of the brace isinserted in the opening 19 provided for same in the sleeve, and theball-shaped head 3 on the upper end of the rib is inserted in the socketor recess in the rib-supporting member 4. The expansion spring 11 exertssuflicient upward pressure on the ribsupporting member to securely clampthe heads of the ribs between said member and the washer 9, and thissame pressure securely clamps the cover of the umbrella between thestationary member 6 and said washer 9. None of the elements or parts ofthe umbrella are permanently connected to the central supporting rod 1so that the cost of manufacturing the umbrella is less than in aconstruction in which the various parts are positively connectedtogether.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Let.- ters Patent is:

1. In an umbrella, a central supporting rod, a cover which extends overthe frame of the umbrella, a member loosely mounted on said rod outsideof said cover and engaging same, a key passing through a slot in saidrod and arranged in a groove in said member, said key having a notchthat receives one edge of the slot in said rod, and yielding means forexerting pressure on said member so as to hold said key seated.

2. In an umbrella, a central supporting rod provided with a pair oftransversely extending slots, keys arranged in said slots and eachprovided with a notch that receives one edge of the slot in which it isarranged, a member mounted on said rod and having a groove for receivingone of said keys, a rib-carrying device mounted on said rod underneathsaid member, and a coiled spring mounted on said rod between said deviceand one of said keys.

3. In an umbrella, a central rod, a stationary member on said rod, aremovable key for retaining said member in position, a movable member onsaid rod provided with a socket or recess, ribs provided at their upperends with heads or projections that enter said socket, and a coiledspring surrounding said rod and arranged between said rib-supportingmember and an abutment on the rod for exerting upward pressure on saidrib-supporting member, the pressure of said spring also acting to holdthe stationary member in engagement with said key.

1. In an umbrella, a central supporting rod, a stationary member on saidrod arranged outside of the cover which extends over the ribs of theumbrella, a removable key for retaining said member in position, arib-supporting member slidingly mounted on the rod, ribs having theirupper ends detachably connected to said rib-supporting member, and acoiled spring mounted on said rod for exerting upward pressure on saidrib-supporting member to retain the ribs and. the cover of the umbrellain position.

5. An umbrella comprising a central supporting rod, a stationary memberon said rod arranged outside of the cover which extends over the ribs ofthe umbrella, a washer arranged on the rod inside of the cover, arib-supporting member slidingly mounted on the rod directly underneathsaid washer, ribs provided at their upper ends with heads or projectionsthat are interposed between said washer and rib-supporting member, acoiled expansion spring mounted on said rod for exerting upward pressureon said rib-supporting member, a sliding sleeve mounted on the rod, andbraces connected to the ribs and to said sleeve.

6. In an umbrella, a central supporting rod, a member mounted on saidrod outside of the cover which extends over the ribs of the umbrella, akey extending transversely through a slot in the rod for retaining saidmember in position, said key being provided with lugs that engageopposite sides of said rod so as to prevent lateral movement of the key,a rib-supporting member slidingly mounted on the rod, ribs detachablyconnected at their upper ends to said rib-supporting member, a coiledexpansion spring mounted on the rod for exerting upward pressure on saidrib-supporting member, and a cross-key carried by said rod forsupporting a washer which forms an abutment for the lower end of saidspring. 15 In testimony whereof I hereunto afi'ix my signature in thepresence of two witnesses, this eleventh day of March 1909.

AUSTIN PEOK. WVitnesses:

ELLA UNDERWOOD, GEORGE BAKEWELL.

